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About Me

Hello! Thank you so much for visiting me in the Attic, it's lovely to see you. My name is Lucy and I'm a happily married Mum with three children. We live in a cosy terraced house on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales in England which we are slowly renovating and making home. I have a passion for crochet and colour and love to share my creative journey. I hope you enjoy your peek into my colourful little world x

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December 30, 2015

Sunny Granny Stripe Blanket :: Ta-dah!

Every time I look at this yarn rainbow the very sight of it makes me soooooooo happy!!! Isn't happy colour a wonderful, wonderful thing? I think so, I really do, I feel like I can gaze at these colours and absorb all the vibrant, happy brightness into my soul and feel the warmth radiating. Simple pleasures.....

I've had this Sunny yarn in my yarn bag for many months now, 18 shades of Summer Sunshine looking radiant right there. Some of the colours individually could be quite tricky to work with (bright in-your-face Citron, I'm looking at you here!), but once nestled in with their sunny neighbours, all is thankfully well. There is a very pleasing balance between the cool of the blues/greens/mauves and the heat of the reds/yellows/pinks/purples. I love this hot/cold balance very much, and I find I naturally make this happen in most of my colour palettes. Yum yum, it's all so delicious and tasty looking in that bag!

I just had a look at the time stamp on the above photo to see when this blanket journey began - it was the 5th of October {5:10:15}. I was spending the morning at a local café with my friend Sarah, hooking up the first few rows whilst drinking coffee and photographing bits of my progress for the tutorial (hence the white sheet of paper). It just goes to show how portable and sociable this crochet lark can be, providing you choose a good, light airy café and the right kind of understanding friends!

You can see in the above photo that I had already chosen the colour order for the first set of stripes - this is a great method if you are making a striped blanket with random colour order. Have a really good play with a set of yarn pegs and work out a colour order that you are happy with, then tape little strands of yarn to a small piece of paper and keep it with your hook - this is your "colour map". Then if you are going out and about with your blanket, you need only take 2 or 3 balls in your bag with you if you already know which colours are coming up next (I found I could make 3 stripes at a chatty two hour café session).

I love it when a stripy blanket reaches the length when you think it could possible make a pretty good scarf. I was hooking up these early rows when we had our wonderful weekend at Robin Hoods Bay in mid October, and believe me, I really did consider wearing it around my neck. So jaunty!

These stripy rows of "granny trebles" are so easy, so relaxing and so meditative, addictive too. Just one more row, it's impossible to stop mid row, it's against all the hooky rules you know. Just a bit more till I get to the end, then I'll be able to finish. But ooooo I wonder what the next colour will look like added in? I'll just give it a go, get started with a new colour, you know, just to make sure it looks right. But I can't stop mid row, I'll just have to make it to the end before I stop....and on and on. That's how those rows grow so quickly, as if by magic ;)

I mentioned earlier about playing with yarn pegs as a way of working out a random stripe order. This is such a nifty way to do it, so satisfying but also highly successful. I had 18 Sunny colours in my yarn bag, so it made sense to order the stripes in groups of 18 each time. I tried not to go too rainbowy, not to be afraid of unlikely colour combos cropping up (Gold next to Bright Pink? No problem!), not to put any two colours too close together and to keep an eye on the balance of the dominant shades (Citron and Claret in this case). It's what I call "planned random" - there is a certain amount of brain power and instinct behind the apparently random selection, but truthfully not too much.

This blanket went all over the place with me as I worked on it during the weeks of October and November. Sometimes I was at home with it draped over my lap on the sofa, but often I was out and about at a friends kitchen table or in various local cafés....

.....cafe + coffee + cake + chatter +crochet = complete bliss! You can picture me as happy as a pig in muck here on this ordinary Tuesday afternoon in October, indulging in a spontaneous hooky sesh with good friends.

Oooooooooo it's growing look, becoming rather blankety now wouldn't you say? Couldn't get away with the scarf thing now, that's for sure.

Into November now, and the cold weather has arrived. The blanket is now the perfect size to provide some cosy fireside snuggling whilst hooking those rows. Colour and comfort to cheer even the dreariest of Winter days.

By the end of November, eight weeks after beginning, I had made 90 stripes and the blanket measured 120cm x 175cm. Just the right size to call a halt to the rows and attend to The Edge.

As you can see, I had become a bit lazy with my darning in my ends. I tried to do most of them as I went along, but towards the end I just kind of lost the will to deal with them. You may remember the above picture from Part 6 of my Crochet-A-Long, it was the week that Little B had his surgery and we spent day after day installed on the sofa together. I shall never forget this time, the quiet hours spent darning and crocheting to calm the anxiety and banish the worry.

I get so excited and giddy arriving at The Edge of a blanket as it's a part of the creative making process which also doubles up as the finishing process.

A kind of fidgety excitement sets in as the edge of The Edge gets under way. You will your hook to hook faster, faster! Speed up those stitches, we are so very nearly there!

And there is a certain satisfaction when an edging pattern produces such neat, pointy corners. It's all looking rather lovely and.....

.....oooooo, rather suddenly finished!

The 3rd of December and my Sunny Granny Stripe blanket had it's last ends darned in and was declared ready for family approval.....

....cue Little B who stepped up to the job without even being asked. Testing out the softness with his dancing feet....

.....and helping me to fold and drape so that I could take some photos.

I have to say that I truly love the way the Spot On edging looks with these stripes, it's such a beautiful finish with just the right amount of detail. It does a superb job of neatening the edges and containing the stripes without being in any way overpowering.

I'm sorry to tell you that I haven't been able to take very good photos of this blanket in it's entirety. What with the Christmas tree and the resulting weird furniture alignment, combined with Storm Frank making the day feel like perpetual twilight, it's been a weeny bit challenging.

I spread it all out and smoothed the edges and corners as best as I could. I teetered on the edge of the sofa and snapped a few above-my-head pics with my camera, hoping for the best.

The images aren't great, but at least you can get some idea of how the ninety stripes look from bottom to top.........

I love the simplicity of the pattern and the delightful exuberance of the colour play.

I love the size and drape of the finished blanket. I love the snuggly softness and the pleasing weight of it when it is wrapped and cosied around me in the early mornings and evenings.

And I absolutely LOVE the way it looks so at home on my grey sofa, like rays of bright sunshine after a heavy rainstorm. Sometimes it is neatly folded over the arm of the sofa or draped across the back of it, but mostly it is slung any old how, thrown off by one of us after a period of blankety snuggles. And there it sits, waiting for the next person to come and tuck themselves under it. And so this Sunny blanket is already very well loved and used, a cosy part of family life here in the Attic, a fragment of childhood memories for my Little People.

If you joined in with my Autumn Sunny Crochet-A-Long, you may already have your very own Sunny Granny Stripe blanket (hooray for you!). There are full tutorials here on my blog for making this complete blanket ::

This first blanket has different dimensions as it was made for my caravan seat - it is short and wide with a different type of edging. The starting chain is 239, it measures 150cm x 110cm and has only 60 stripes. If you would like the colour order for my original Granny Stripe blanket, you can find it in this post.

The Sunny Granny stripe (the blanket on the right in the above picture) is much bolder with stronger, deeper colours and I much prefer the dimensions of this one (starting chain 200, it measures 120 x 175cm and has 90 stripes) .

It's been really great sharing my creative process with you all here on my blog, I've enjoyed it hugely. Thanks as ever for coming along for the ride, your company is much appreciated..

Comments

One of my Christmas gifts is this Sunny pack. I'm still waiting for my pkg to travel to me in Southern California. I plan to make this lovely bright and cherry striped blanket for me. It's given me so much pleasure to see the pictures, I just can't wait to have it in my lap.

My Grandma Nell crocheted beautiful things... lovely Barbie doll clothes, afghans, toys, lace bedspreads, clothes. She's been gone for 20 yrs now, but crocheting brings me closer to her. Especially as I find myself on the couch with my feet up just like she did crocheting or knitting as I watch tv. I know she would have been so impressed with your lovely crochet and colors. Her pallet was the burnt orange, harvest gold and avocado green. Gah! But those were the new colors of acrylic yarn. Truth be told, I like yours so much better!

Gorgeous colors that truly inspire one to dig through the piles and build with your idea of the little clothes pins! I like that as I tend to go a bit too monochromatic in my colorways. Happy 2016 from Connecticut, USA!

Have enjoyed reading your blog over the years, Lucy. Am keen to start a blog in the New Year. What camera do you use - you post lovely clear photographs? Kind Regards. Lucy (named after my father's mum fortunately - my mother's mum was a Gladys!)

Gorgeous blanket Lucy! I am guilty of procrastinating with sewing in the ends of my blanket that I started mid this year when I was in hospital for 3 weeks and then recuperating. You have inspired me to pick it up again.

Tonight I am exactly where photo three is, how spooky is that! Santa brought me and my daughter packs, so we are just starting our journey - she is attempting the log cabin blanket. Over the last month my husband has been really poorly with an infection and the CAL blanket I did last Christmas, the cozy stripe, has been in constant use. He even took it in his suitcase when he had to go to Germany for a couple of days as he didn't want to be without it. It has been his constant companion on the sofa and has helped with the shivers and sicknes. So thanks for the patterns, this one will be for me!

I don't know if I ever told you this, but my mum adores your blog and is steadily working her way through your blankets. She lacks confidence with crochet but trusts you and your tutorials and I know they bring her a huge amount of pleasure.

Here ends the comment bombing - can you tell this is the first time I've had a chance to sit down and read some blogs?! xxx

Lucy !!!! always remember the first day I saw your granny blanket stripe! and today this another surprise! the new Sunny Granny Blanket Stripe is wonderful !!!!! I love it !!!!!!! I am looking forward to a blanket for me! her blog is so inspiring as always !!!!! million thanks for all your generosity! I hope you have a Happy 2016 !!! a big hug from Catalonia!

It's gorgeous Lucy, and I love the stories along with the various stripes. The edging is particularly good, I can imagine how very satisfying it is to finish it so nicely. How great that it is in your living room being used already. I'm wishing you and yours a very happy New Year, and I shall look forward to following along in 2016. CJ xx

Thank you thank you for your blog. I am a new crocheter and very inspired by your colorful pics. I am currently working on the foundation row of a rainbow granny stripe afghan that will be a gift to a dear friends soon to be born baby.

It's fabulous Lucy! As been stated many times before, you do have an eye for color and arranging them! Love the shot of L. B.'s toes checking out the texture. Had the same experience just this morning (but with a much older child) as I spread out my round throw I'm working on at the moment(popcorn stitches involved) to check for curling (since I'm not following a pattern per say).With the comment it would make a wonderful rug. lol Nothing like curling up under a crochet blanket, whether it's finished or not.

I'm going to buy it later next year. I've had the wavy blanket kit since it came out and I have been so busy that I've had no time to crochet. The Sunny Blanket will be made for my Best Friend's 50th Birthday in August.
Wishing everyone a fabulous 2016, full of happiness and good health.
With love,
K xxx

I'm starting mine tomorrow having recently finished two ripples as Christmas presents. I got the sunny pack as a present from my Mum. Can't wait to get going especially as we've just seen your finished one. Thank you.